SHAH ALAM, April 2 — The Shah Alam City Council (MBSA) will heed the advice of Tengku Permaisuri Selangor Tengku Permaisuri Norashikin, who said improvements must be made to the methods of managing stray dogs in its jurisdiction.
Mayor Cheremi Tarman said the council will increase meetings and discussions with residents to provide an understanding on how MBSA manages stray dogs, and will refer to the state government whether the existing circular on guidelines for catching and disposal of dogs can be changed, especially replacing the word ‘disposal’ with a better word.
“We will refer to the state government for it to be brought to the Local Government Development Ministry to improve the existing circular, including replacing the word ‘disposal’ which can give a negative impression, especially to non-governmental organisations and animal lovers.
“The ‘disposal’ method practised by MBSA is to send the animals to animal welfare centres, not to ‘put to sleep’ as only veterinary officers are allowed to conduct the procedure,” he said.
Cheremi was speaking at a media conference today after chairing a meeting to coordinate control actions on strays in MBSA areas.
Her Royal Highness expressed dismay and disappointment yesterday following the latest developments on stray dog-catching operations in Selangor.
Tengku Permaisuri Norashikin said she strongly disagrees with the catch and dispose method conducted by any local authority, including the upcoming operation by MBSA in the Setia Alam area, which went viral.
Cheremi added that the operation to control and catch stray dogs was made with the cooperation of 24 zones of the Resident Representative Council of Shah Alam and that in the first two months of this year, 133 stray dogs were caught out of 479 complaints received.
Stray dogs that were caught were temporarily housed at the MBSA animal centre, and if the owner did not claim the dogs in seven days, the animals would be handed over to the Paws Animal Welfare Society for further action.
— Bernama
